


Take Care

by jedusaur



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Meta, Pack Mom Stiles Stilinski, Podfic Available
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-26
Updated: 2012-10-26
Packaged: 2017-11-17 01:49:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/546311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedusaur/pseuds/jedusaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The problem with joking about moms is that not everybody has one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take Care

**Author's Note:**

> This is very fanon, and very meta, and overall very me. Assumes an established Stiles/Derek relationship and a pack-cohabitation situation.
> 
> A podfic of this fic by Princess2000204 can be found [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/732468).

Derek doesn't even notice it becoming a running joke until it already is one. Actually, to be honest, he doesn't notice until it turns from a running joke into a problem. He's good at noticing subtleties when they're very quiet or smell very faint, but he's not so great with words.

To his credit, no one else notices either. Granted, they're all teenagers, which comes with an inherent baseline of obliviousness, and most of them are pretty self-absorbed even for their age. But hey, they all have shit going on, and they generally assume that if Stiles has a complaint, he'll voice it. Given his overall history of voicing complaints, Derek feels that this is a reasonable assumption.

So when Stiles gets on Erica's back about leaving her socks around the living room, she says, "Oh, sorry, _Mom_." Stiles flips her off, and it seems perfectly normal. And when Stiles chases Boyd down the driveway because he left for work without his lunch, Boyd says, "You do realize I can just duck out back and catch a rabbit or something, right, Mom?" Stiles just picks on him for murdering innocent fluffy baby bunnies, and Boyd muses aloud about how many baby bunnies it would take to comprise a full meal, and Stiles screws up his face and makes loud "LALALALALA" noises, and nothing seems to be wrong.

Derek isn't used to worrying about Stiles. Well, no, he's used to worrying about Stiles in terms of physical safety, and stupid heroics, and getting into things he shouldn't be getting into. But that's not so much worrying as it is dealing with things as they happen. He's not used to worrying about Stiles emotionally. It just doesn't seem necessary.

None of that makes him feel any better when he realizes there's something wrong.

***

It's past midnight, and they're getting ready for bed. As he's undressing, Stiles says, "Brush your teeth yet?"

"Yes, Mom," snips Derek. He's not even thinking about it, just taking social cues from the rest of the pack. That's usually the best way to interact with people without putting too much energy into the process--just identify patterns in other people's behavior and internalize the ones that seem accepted and expected.

But instead of sticking his tongue out or making fun of Derek right back, like he normally would, Stiles shoots him a glare and says, "Fucking... _don't_."

Derek pauses halfway through plugging his cell phone into the charger. "What?"

Stiles kicks his jeans off viciously. "Nothing." He grabs a T-shirt, even though he usually sleeps in just boxers, and pulls it over his head. Derek watches, confused, as he gets in bed and turns his back.

"I didn't realize it bothered you," Derek tries. "I'll ask the others to stop calling you that."

" _No_ ," Stiles snaps, even more angrily. "Don't you dare. If you say _anything_ I will fuck your shit up. Or I'll try, and I won't be able to, and then nobody's gonna be happy. Seriously, drop it."

Derek drops it.

Stiles usually noses up to his shoulder the second they're both in bed, looking for snuggles, but tonight he stays firmly facing away. It takes Derek a while to fall asleep, and he doesn't hear Stiles' heartbeat slow down either.

***

When Derek actually devotes a few brain cells to figuring it out, it's obvious why Stiles might have issues with people using "Mom" as a term of mockery. Painfully obvious, really, and now Derek's feeling really fucking bad about it.

Stiles is a creature of levity, is the problem. Comic relief is his thing. He jokes around when he's in a good mood, he jokes around when he's in a bad mood, he jokes around when he's worried, he jokes around when he's relieved, he jokes around when he's in mortal danger and joking around could legitimately get him killed. Sarcasm is his comfort zone and his defense mechanism, and it's hard to tell the difference. It's hard to tell where his boundaries are when it comes to teasing.

Here's one, apparently. One that makes a lot of sense. Derek just can't figure out why Stiles didn't use that icy fuck-off tone the first time it came up, or any of the subsequent times. He can't figure out why it's a problem _now._

***

Derek finds Stiles at his computer the next day. He waits until Stiles turns and acknowledges his presence with raised eyebrows.

"Can I apologize?" asks Derek.

Stiles shrugs. "I dunno. Never seen evidence of it happening, but I always thought that was a question of pugnacity, not capability."

Derek tries not to loom. Erica thinks he looms too much. It's helpful if he's trying to be intimidating, she says, but doing it all the time is just overkill. He's not trying to intimidate Stiles. He's just trying to fix things.

"I'm sorry," he says. "It was an asshole thing to say. I wasn't thinking."

Stiles looks back at his computer screen. "It's fine," he mumbles.

"It's not fine. And I don't want the rest of the pack saying it if it gets to you."

"It doesn't get to me." Stiles won't look at him. "I don't mind."

Derek gives up.

***

He doesn't talk to anyone else about it, because Stiles was pretty clear about not wanting him to, and he's pretty sure ignoring that warning would make things worse. 

Two days later, Derek is eating dinner while Scott is killing himself trying to study for a test at the other end of the table. He's just not getting the material, and Stiles is trying to help him, but Scott just gets more and more frustrated with himself. Eventually, Stiles says, "Dude, this isn't productive. Why don't you take a break and get some air?"

Scott raspberries his lips at Stiles and then says, "Fine, whatever, Mom." He sticks his hands in his pockets and kicks the ground on his way out, leaving Stiles and Derek alone at the table.

There's a long, awkward silence while Derek tries to decide whether it would be a good idea to say anything. Finally Stiles breaks it.

"That's not what it means." He's making eye contact now, which is progress. "It's like kids who say 'gay' when they mean shitty. They're not thinking about the word."

Derek wasn't thinking about the word, either. He doesn't say that, because he doesn't want to set Stiles off again. Apparently it's okay for the rest of the pack to say it, but not him. That's fine, that's a rule. Rules he can work with.

Stiles seems to pick up on the unspoken objection. He leans his chin on his hand and stares at the wall for a long moment, then says, "The meaning is more important than the word, with them. With you... I already know the meaning's there, so I can freak out about the word."

"Oh," says Derek. They don't usually express affection physically in common areas of the house, but he feels like it might be a good idea to touch Stiles right now, so he does. It turns out to be a good instinct, if the death grip Stiles exerts on his hand is any clue.

***

Isaac is heading out when Stiles says, "Jacket! It's fucking freezing tonight, you need one."

"I'm fine," says Isaac, and opens the door. His shoulders tense up when the temperature hits him, but he keeps going.

"No, uh-uh, nope nope," says Stiles. He fetches a hoodie from the hall closet and pitches it at Isaac. "Put it on, no backtalk."

"Jeez, okay, Mom," Isaac bitches. He pulls on the hoodie, then grins at Stiles. "Thanks," he says more sincerely, and walks out, leaving the door open behind him.

Stiles goes to close it, and pauses for a moment. Derek watches him watching Isaac. His face isn't clear from this angle, but then he shuts the door, and his fond smile is visible for a split second before he sees Derek looking at him and quickly makes a stupid face.

Derek doesn't say anything, but when they go to bed that night and Stiles noses at his shoulder, he reaches out to squeeze him extra-tight.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Podfic: Take Care](https://archiveofourown.org/works/732468) by [Princess2000204 (Lena204)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lena204/pseuds/Princess2000204)




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